NEW DRUG PLAN SHIFTS FOCUS IN LATIN AMERICA

Washington -After criticism that American anti-narcotics
policy in South America relies too heavily on military aid to
Colombia, the Bush administration proposed a more regional approach
today that would emphasize economic development and cultivation of
legal crops. The new program does not cancel the $1.3 billion program,
known as Plan Colombia, to help the Colombian military battle
narcotics growers and traffickers, But officials said the new aid
would not allow Colombia's security forces to acquire additional
military equipment or finance a greater role for the American advisers
in Colombia beyond what is provided in the existing program. The new
package, which still must be approved by Congress, would effectively
reorient United States counternarcotics spending in Latin America,
providing $882 million to seven countries over several years.

And it would strike an equal balance between drug interdiction efforts
and addressing the social and economic conditions that give rise to
drug production. Administration officials conceded that the change in
spending priorities resulted in part from criticism in Congress and
the news media of the Clinton policy to give the bulk of the
anti-narcotics funds to Colombia for military aid. Under that program,
the United States pledged to provide 16 Blackhawk helicopters and to
train and equip three counternarcotics battalions in the Colombian
Army. Skeptics of Plan Colombia have voiced fears that the United
States might be drawn into a protracted military conflict as Colombia
struggles with two guerrilla insurgencies and right-wing paramilitary
groups in addition to drug traffickers. The critics also worried about
the Colombian military's poor human rights record and warned that the
American-backed military incursion into southern Colombia could force
the combat and corruption to spill into other nations. "We heard all
of the criticism and comments of the past year," said William
Brownfield, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Western
Hemisphere affairs. Under the initiative, Colombia would still be the
largest recipient of American aid, receiving $399 million, or 45 percent.

But about half of that money would go to programs of the United States
Agency for International Development to reform the judicial sector,
improve the efficiency of local governments and induce farmers in the
south to shift to legal crops. The administration's package, which is
to be parceled out over several years, calls for spending half of the
money on security assistance a=80=94 including interdiction and
eradication efforts a=80=94 and half on economic and social development,
Mr. Brownfield said. The package includes aid for Washington's
traditional drug war allies: Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela. But
it also includes $26.1 million for Brazil and $20.5 million for
Panama, both of which have increasingly seen their border areas used
by Colombian guerrillas and traffickers. Bolivia is scheduled to
receive $143.5 million and Ecuador $76.5 million. Peru stands to
receive $163.7 million for social programs in addition to $77 million
in security aid. About one-third of the development spending would be
put toward reducing poverty by helping small businesses and improving
health services. The government of President Hugo ChA!vez of Venezuela
is to receive $10 million in security aid. Mr. ChA!vez, an ardent
nationalist, has irritated American officials by refusing to allow
their anti-narcotics flights to overfly his nation. Even as he
extolled the new approach, Mr. Brownfield said the Bush administration
remained committed to Plan Colombia and its military objective to
force drug-financed rebels into peace negotiations. He acknowledged
that the United States was able to turn its attention to support for
regional development and crop substitution largely because it had
already financed the "big ticket" items Colombians required.

Some analysts suggested, moreover, that the initiative might reflect
Colombia's limited capacity to absorb the American aid already in the
pipeline.

Still, some drug-policy experts who had criticized the Clinton
administration's emphasis on military spending welcomed what they said
was a more comprehensive approach that addresses the problems
underlying drug production and seeks to bolster Colombia's neighbors.
"This seems to be an appropriate investment in these neighboring
countries to resist this spillover effect," said Stephen Flynn, a
senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a critic of Plan
Colombia. Juan Orduz, a spokesman for the Colombian Embassy in
Washington, said the money would help the government of President
AndrA(c)s Pastrana integrate areas in Colombia, like Putumayo
Province, that have long been marginalized by the central government
and become a major source of drugs. "This fight is not only a matter
of eradicating and interdicting drugs," he said. "You must give
farmers a livelihood and the means to take their products out of the
region."